ICTs for Social Protection

Asia-Pacific Social Protection Week

1-5 August 2016 | ADB Headquarters, Manila, Philippines

Aurora A. Rubio
Head, ITU Area Office for South East Asia

DISCLAIMER: This presentation does not necessarily reflect the views of ADB or the Government concerned, and ADB and the
Government cannot be held liable for its contents.

Social protection* is concerned with preventing,

managing, and overcoming situations that
adversely affect peoples well being. Social
protection consists of policies and programs
designed to reduce poverty and vulnerability by
promoting efficient labor markets, diminishing
people's exposure to risks, and enhancing their
capacity to manage economic and social risks, such
as unemployment, exclusion, sickness, disability and
old age.
*United Nations Research Institute For Social Development
Definition

Passive vs. Active Interventions

in Social Protection Programs

Example: On Labor Market Interventions

Passive programs, such as unemployment
insurance, income support and changes in labor
legislation, alleviate the financial needs of the
unemployed but are not designed to improve their
employability.
Active programs on the other hand, focus on
directly increasing the access of unemployed
and/or underemployed workers to stimulate
employment and productivity.
In both programs, ICTs provide very important tools
to promote the programs effectiveness and efficiency

Case: Labor Market Intervention through ICTs

Addressing Youth
Unemployment through ICTs

coding

74 million
youth are
unemployed
globally with
621 million
NEETs
Youth: 13% of
the worlds
population
and 43% of
the worlds
unemployed
(ILO, 2015)

Case: Mobile technology to improve Non-communicable

Diseases (NCDs) prevention and treatment
The socio-economic
burden of NCDs

USD 7T is the
accumulative lost
output in developing
countries associated
with NCDs between
2011-2025
57 million total deaths
in 2008 of which 36
million were due to
NCDs
A collaborative initiative
between

WHO

Non-Communicable Diseases(NCDs)
and their causes

Active Interventions in Social Protection

Programs through ICTs: Empowering Persons with
Specific Needs

Empowering Women

2 out of 3 illiterate people in the world are Women

Internet penetration rates are higher for men than
for women in all regions of the world.

Punakha, Bhutan

Bato, Leyte

Active Interventions in Social Protection

Programs through ICTs: Empowering Persons with
Specific Needs (Cont)

Women
Assistive Technologies
TEXT2SPEECH
Xxx

Case of Lao PDR

Connect a School,
Connect a Community Initiative, Sri Lanka

Digital Financial Services Inclusion

1.6 billion have a
mobile phone
Source: FINDEX 2014
Source: AMDOCS. See
http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/RegionalPresence/AsiaPacific/Pages/Events/2015/AugDigitalFinancialInclusion/home.aspx

Mobile Money can contribute to

financial inclusion and broader
development goals

ICT for Sustainable Development Goals

All three pillars of sustainable
development economic development,
social inclusion and environmental
protection need ICTs as key catalysts,
and ICTs will be absolutely crucial for
achieving the SDGs